Vindicated
by xtOUCH tHE sKY
Summary: Jack was never the strongest of his brothers. He had done things in the past he wasn't exactly proud of, but he was trying to clean up his act. But when something happens to Jack, will it push him over the edge? And how will his brother's react?
1. Prologue

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters, blah blah blah...

**Prologue**

It was just like any other night. Jack had made the average amount of tips, nothing special, and was on his way home. It wasn't too late, only about 10ish, so Jack didn't really have a problem walking home. Why did these guys have to pick him? They were much stronger than him and weighed at least twice as much. Jack was extremely skinny, 'underweight' the doctors would tell him, and extremely tall for his weight. Obviously the term "pick on someone your own size" didn't matter to them at all. As soon as he walked out of the bar, he saw them coming towards him. Hedid his best to hidethe fear that was rising in the pit of his stomach because he didn't want to show them just how weak he was. He soon found out that it didn't matter if he showed his fear or not, these guys were going to do something to him, and the thought of him not knowing what was about to happen is what scared him the most.

"What you up to, boy?" The taller and dirtier of the two men asked him.

"Nothing, just on my way home." Jack said, hoping they didn't hear his voice shaking.

"Is that so?" They other man said, stepping in front of him.

Jack stopped, he had two, they were blocking his way. His mind was racing on what he should do next.

They both grabbed him and forced him to the ground. One of the men then pinned Jack's arms behind his back and the other started to undo and pull down his pants.

"Please, stop. I give you whatever you want, just please, stop…" Jack tried to reason.

"I think you know what we want." Was the only reply Jack got.

His torture only worsened as the men started to rape him. Jack tried to fight against it, but only seemed to fuel them more. He was pushed down harder and was violated worse and worse. It seemed like they would never stop, but just when Jack thought he couldn't take any more, the men backed off, got dressed and just walked away.

Jack immediately got dressed and backed himself into a corner. He was breathing heavily and shaking uncontrollably. The tears were streaming down his face nonstop. He pulled his legs tightly to his chest and sat there in the alley. He was afraid that if he moved, if he didn't make himself as small as he could be, then it would happen again, they would find him.

He didn't know how long he was sitting there, and quite frankly he didn't care. He felt dirty and worthless. And he didn't know how he would ever get rid of that feeling.

TBC...

* * *

Reviews are always appreciated. This is my first story I've posted so please don't be too harsh!  
: ) 


	2. Chapter 1

_A/N: Just so I don't confuse anyone, this story takes place after the movie. ((Jack isn't dead, though.))  
And thanks for all of the reviews! I hope you like this chapter! _

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters...

Chapter 1 

Jack couldn't stop shaking. He couldn't catch his breath. He felt trapped in his own skin. "I thought I was done dealing with this shit..." Jack wondered aloud. God, why couldn't he stop shaking?

What was he supposed to do now? He couldn't just sit there, but he was in no condition to walk anywhere right now. He probably needed to go to a clinic and get checked out, but there was no way he could do that either. He needed Bobby to come get him. How was he going to lie himself out of this one? He was never good at lying.

Sighing, he pulled out his cell phone from his pocket and dialed Bobby's number with a shaky hand. He really didn't want to call him, but he didn't know what else to do.

"Bobby?... Yeah, it's me, Jack… I need you to come pick me up ... Yeah, I know, I'm sorry... I'm in the alley behind the bar... Okay. Bye..." Jack hung up the phone. He did his best to make his voice sound normal, but chances are, Bobby picked up on the uneasiness of it.

About five minutes later Jack heard Bobby's car pull up. He cut of the engine and got out of the car, looking for his little brother. "Jack!" He shouted. He was worried about him. Something wasn't right.

"I'm right here." Jack said quietly, emerging from the shadows.

"Thank God." Bobby sighed in relief. However his relief was short lived when he saw Jack's appearance. His face was completely white and his bright blue eyes now seemed dull and void of all emotion.

"Jack, what the hell happened to you?"

"Nothing." Jack responded, a little too fast. He pulled out a cigarette and lit it. It was a wonder he didn't burn himself. God, he needed to stop shaking. He glanced up at Bobby. He didn't believe him. Damnit. Why couldn't Bobby just believe him? "I got mugged, okay? No big deal. I just didn't feel like walking home."

"Cut the bullshit Jack and tell me what's going on." Bobby was losing his patience.

"It's not bullshit Bobby!" Jack yelled in response. He was starting to get mad; now wasn't the time for 21 questions. Jack ran his fingers through his hair and heaved an irritated sigh.

"What's that mark on your arm from?" Bobby asked, noticing a reddish, purple mark around Jack's wrist. He knew Jack had plenty of scars from his childhood, but he had never seen that one there before.

"Fuck you, man. All I needed was a ride." Jack knew it was a mistake calling Bobby. He turned and started to walk in the direction of the house.

"Jack, wait." Bobby said, catching Jack's arm as he walked past.

"Don't touch me!" Jack said, spinning around in alarm. He was unusually jumpy. At least he wasn't shaking as much. It's a wonder what cigarettes will do.

"I'm sorry... Just get in the car." Bobby said, giving in. He knew Jack wasn't telling the truth and he definitely knew that Jack was in far worse condition then what he was letting on.


	3. Chapter 2

_A/N: Thank again for all ofyour wonderfulreviews! Anyways, I hope you like this chapter!_

Disclaimer: ) I still don't own the characters...

**Chapter 2**

The car ride home was unusually silent. Neither Jack nor Bobby felt like talking. Bobby was frustrated that Jack wasn't telling him the truth and, ironically enough, he didn't feel like arguing. Jack just didn't feel like talking period. So many things were going through his mind right now that he felt like his head was going to explode. His hands started shaking as the affects of his last cigarette started to ease off.

Jack quietly headed up the stairs of the seemingly vacant house. "I'm going to go take a shower," he added as he was almost at the top of the staircase.

Bobby didn't say anything back, but took off his coat and headed tiredly into the kitchen. Angel and Sophi were out someplace and Jerry was at home with his family so Jack and Bobby were the only ones home.

…

Jack put his head under the steaming water coming from the showerhead. He took a deep breath, rubbing his hands through his hair. The shower felt comforting compared to the coldness of the weather outside.

He turned off the water, grabbing a towel and wrapping it around his waist as he stepped out of the shower. He threw on the clothes he grabbed out of his room earlier and walked through the hall to his room.

Plopping down on his bed Jack grabbed his guitar and started strumming. Music helped keep his mind off of things. As long as he had something to focus on, he couldn't think about all the bad things.

There was a knock on his door. Great. Bobby. Again.

"Yeah?" Jack called through the door, not missing a beat and he kept playing his guitar.

Bobby opened the door and walked into the room. "You hungry, Fairy? 'Cuz there's food in the in the –"

"I'm not hungry." Jack cut in.

"La Vida Loca made this pasta thing and..." Bobby continued with his useless chatter.

Jack put his guitar down. "What do you want, Bobby?" he asked in a dull and tired voice.

Bobby paused for a moment, not sure if he should just be blunt or beat around the bush a little more. "I want you to tell me what the hell happened tonight," Bobby finally said. He decided he couldn't hold it in any longer. "You're not acting like yourself," he added.

Bobby walked further inside Jack's room and sat in the chair next to the bed. He was willing to wait for an answer because he wasn't going to leave until he found out the truth.

"I already told you. I got mugged by a couple of thugs." Jack stated simply.

"Yeah, and I already told _you_," Bobby stated just as simply, "that's a bunch of bullshit."

"Then what the fuck do you want me to say!" Jack shouted angrily. "You never believe me!" He was tired of being questioned. He was tired of bad things always happening to him. He was tired of being toughed when he didn't want to be touched. Bobby seemed unfazed by Jack's yelling. He sat back in the chair and crossed his arms. He felt stuck. He didn't want to make him mad, he just wanted to find out what happened, and then beat the shit out of the guys that did it to him. 

"Fine. You want to know what happened!" Jack was so mad, he could feel his face burning. He stood up quickly and took off his shirt. His movement was so sudden that he even surprised Bobby whose face, until now, was showing no expression.

"Jack what the hell are you doing?" Bobby asked, also standing up.

"This is what happened, Bobby. This is what they did to me." Jack said. He was starting to cry now. Talking about it just made him feel like he was reliving the incident all over again. "They held me down and... and they kicked me... They wouldn't stop, Bobby… I told them to stop... and they wouldn't..." Jack was breathing heavily now. The shakiness was back.

"Jack..." Bobby began, walking closer to him. His eyes examined his torso. There were several large bruises, already a dark purple, along with several scratches up and down his arms, ending with a ring-shaped bruise around each wrist. He looked back up his chest, this time looking at his scars. He had several from the abuse he had suffered from as a kid, but his eyes stopped on one scar in particular. That was the mark left from when he had been shot. This kid had been through so much already. He didn't need something like this to finally make him break.

"It's gonna be ok, Jackie," Bobby said finally.

"No, Bobby, it's not gonna be ok. It never has been, and it never will be."

By the look in Jack's blue eyes, Bobby could tell that he was hurting, and no ass whooping he could give to the guys that did this to him was going to take that hurt away.


	4. Chapter 3

_A/N: Sorry it took so long for me to post this chapter! I wasn't really sure which direction I wanted to take the story and then I got swamped with school work, but hopefully you'll like this chapter. And once again, thanks for all the wonderful reviews. I really appreciate them and sometimes they give me ideas on what to write for the story!_ : )

Disclaimer: No, I still don't own Four Brothers...

**Chapter 3 **

Jack felt like he had lost complete control over his body and his emotions. He was shaking and his heart was racing. He was out of breath and was crying so hard he thought he was going to be sick to his stomach.

"Jack... slow down. You're making yourself sick," Bobby said worriedly. Jack wasn't looking so good. He seemed like he was about to collapse any minute.

"I need a cigarette." Jack said, seemingly snapping out of his trance. He started to shuffle through his room, looking for his cigarettes. "Where the fuck are my cigarettes! I need my fucking cigarettes!" Jack yelled. He had stopped crying now, but he was still shaky and breathing a little heavily.

Bobby had seen Jack like this only a few times before. It was one of those moments where he knew Jack had been pushed over the edge. And if no one grabbed him soon, he would be gone forever. Jack was always really conservative. He usually kept to himself and never really showed how he felt. This was his biggest weakness. Usually things would just build up to where he would just completely lose it. He would begin shaking and crying and most of the time you had no clue why, but you just understood. Jack was a pretty tough kid, and if he was crying, it was probably because he had reason to. When he would have these moments it seemed like the days afterward Jack would be completely detached, as if he was lost in his own world. It wasn't like he wouldn't talk or anything, you just knew that he wasn't completely there and he would sometimes get really angry at the smallest things. After their mom's death, Jack seemed so far gone that Bobby and his brothers weren't sure that he wasn't going to snap out of it, that maybe that was all he could take. But eventually his disconnectedness wore off, and little-by-little Jack was becoming the younger brother that Angel, Jerry, and Bobby knew.

"Jack, stop." Bobby said finally, grabbing Jack's arm and spinning him around.

Jack's eyes looked at him wildly.

"Slow down, Jackie."

Jack sat down on his bed and buried his face in his hands.

"I can't do this anymore Bobby. I just can't... No matter what I do it's never enough. Something bad always has to fuck everything up..." He began rambling.

Bobby went and sat down next to him and lightly rubbed his hand on his shoulder. He was a little hesitant, not completely sure of what he should do.

"Remember when I first moved in and I had bruises all over my body? And you saw me and told me not to be afraid anymore because no one would ever hurt me like that again? What am I supposed to do when you're not there, Bobby? I can't do this by myself..." Jack said in between sobs.

Bobby continued to rub his back, letting Jack cry and get it all out of his system. He knew if Jack continued the way he was going he wouldn't last long.

"Jack ain't lookin' so good, man." Angel told Bobby the next evening, basically stating the obvious. Jack was in the kitchen making dinner (since Sophie was currently "on strike") while Angel and Bobby were in the other room.

"Yeah, I know," Bobby replied.

"So you gonna tell me what's goin' on with him or what?" He asked, glancing in Jack's direction again. Jack looked a lot skinnier than normal and seemed to move slower, like he was extremely exhausted. The marks on his chest and arms seemed to stand out more against his pale complexion in the kitchen light.

"I'm not entirely sure. He told me the other night that he got jumped by a couple of thugs. I think it brought back old memories." Bobby stated. "But my guess, though, is he's not telling me the whole truth." He added a moment later.

"The food is ready," Jack said from the kitchen, ending their conversation.

"Finally." Angel answered, walking into the kitchen with Bobby right behind him. "I'm starving."

Once in the kitchen they gathered around the table and said grace before sitting down to eat. As usual, Angel was eating like an animal and Bobby was too absorbed in his plate to notice much.

"You gonna eat something, Jack?" Angel asked, looking up at Jack who seemed preoccupied with picking at his food. He never really ate that much, but tonight he wasn't eating at all.

"I'm not really hungry." He replied dully.

"Yeah, well you should eat _something_. You're skinny enough as it is."

"He's right." Bobby added finally looking up from his plate.

"I said I wasn't hungry."

"Don't be a smart ass, Jack. We're just worried about you." Bobby said.

"Yeah? Well, don't be," He replied standing up from the table, suddenly irritable.

"And where do you think you're going?" Bobby asked, following him.

"Out."

"No, you're not going anywhere." He said forcefully.

"And I don't think I asked for your permission." Jack said, equally as forceful before he walked out of the house, slamming the door behind him and leaving Angel and Bobby standing there with surprised and confused looks on their faces.

Jack didn't know where he was going when he walked out of the house. He just knew that he needed to get away. It was almost completely dark outside and he knew it wasn't exactly the best idea to be walking around by himself, but right now he didn't care... The shaking was back. He wasn't sure if it was from the sudden anger outburst he had just had or if something was wrong with him, but he needed to calm down. Reaching for his cigarettes, Jack dug in his pocket. Damnit. He didn't have any. He needed something to calm down. _Anything_, and right now, he didn't care what it was.

"I'm going after him." Bobby stated, grabbing his jacket as soon as Jack had walked out.

"No, you're not." Angel said, stopping.

"And why the hell not?"

"You know how unpredictable Jack can be when he's like this. If you follow him, you're probably just going to piss him off more. And what are you gonna do when if find him, anyways? Ground him?"

"I'm gonna kick his ass. That's what I'm goin' to do."

"Just let him cool off a little. He'll come back, he always does."

"Yeah and what if he doesn't! What if he gets himself killed this time! Bobby said, turning towards the door. He didn't have time for Angel's reasoning; he had to find his little brother.

"Not a good idea, man." Angel said warningly.

Bobby didn't reply, but simply slammed the door in his face, obviously pissed off. If he had his mind set on doing something, he was going to do it, and he wasn't about to let anyone get in his way.


	5. Chapter 4

_A/N: Hopefuly the wait on this chapter wasn't too long. I tried to get it posted as fast as I could. Thanks for the reviews and I hope you like this chapter! (Sorry it's kind of short)_

Disclaimer: Four Brothers does not belong to me.

**Chapter 4**

Jack knew he had to hurry. He was pretty sure that at least one of his brothers was going to come after him.

He slipped into the alley just as he heard Bobby call out his name.

"JACK! Get your ass back in the house!"

Jack waited a few moments, watching as he saw Bobby pass by his hiding place. Letting out a sigh of relief he began walking in the opposite direction that Bobby went. He couldn't help but feel slightly nervous about being out by himself, especially in a dark alley, but he really needed to get out of the house. Looking around for places to go, Jack spotted a familiar figure standing by the dumpster.

"What's up, Trevor?" Jack said, walking over to the man and shaking his hand. Trevor was Jack's old friend from high school. They used to do everything together.

"Ah, nothing much. It's been a while."

"Yeah," Jack said, cracking a smile, "it has been a while." He scratched his head thoughtlessly and let out a deep breath.

"You alright, man? You look like shit." Trevor added, noticing how beat up Jack looked.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine." He had heard that a lot lately. "You got a cigarette on you?" He asked after a moment.

"Nah, I'm out." Trevor replied. "But I got something better." Trevor added, pulling out a bag from his jacket.

"Coke?" Jack asked, taking the bag from his hand and examining it. "I don't think so, man. You know I just got off this stuff." He had been clean for almost a year now. He knew that if he held it too long he might decide to buy it from him, and it would be like starting all over again.

"You sure? This stuff is like magic."

"Yeah. I'm sure. Put this shit away" Jack began, extending his arm to give him back the bag, "before my brother sees us and—" He stopped mid-sentence when he felt a hand on his shoulder yank him around. He found himself looking straight at Bobby. The last person he wanted to see.

"What the fuck are you doing!" He asked in a dangerously angry tone.

"..." Jack had no idea what to say. He hadn't done anything, but how was he supposed to tell that to Bobby now?

"COKE! Are you doing this shit again too!" He asked in an even more dangerous tone. "I thought you cleaned up your act, Jack."

"I didn't do anything." Jack said, finally defending himself. "Why are you assuming shit all the time?"

"Look man, he's telling the truth." Trevor said, speaking up for Jack. It was a brave move on his part.

"Don't fucking talk to me," Bobby said to him before punching him square in the jaw.

"Look Bobby, I already told you I didn't take it!" Jack yelled. "Just calm down." He stepped between Bobby and Trevor because he wasn't sure what was going to happen next.

"_Calm down?_" Bobby mimicked. "My brother has been a complete wreck for the past few days and then just gets up and walks out of the house! And then I find him buying drugs and you're telling me to _calm down_?" he yelled back.

"Just shut the fuck up and listen to me for a second!" Jack said, pausing slightly before continuing. "I didn't take them ok? You know I stopped doing that shit after mom died. Just trust me for once."

"How the hell an I supposed to trust you Jack? **You always screw up**!" Bobby yelled in response, obviously not thinking about what he was saying.

Jack couldn't believe what he had just heard. All this time he had tried his best to live up to what Bobby wanted him to be and now he was calling him a screw-up? His jaw tightened and his hands sub-consciously turned into fists. He slowly began backing away, the hurt showing visibly on his face.

"Wait. Jack, I didn't mean it like that." Bobby tried to apologize.

Jack didn't answer.

Bobby stepped closer, reaching out for his arm, but Jack quickly yanked it away.

"Don't touch me! Don't ever fucking touch me!" he yelled before stuffing the cocaine in his pocket. He turned his back on Bobby and ran as fast as he could away from Bobby. Away from this hell he'd been living in.

"Jack, please..." Bobby pleaded but Jack was already gone. He stood there, stunned. He couldn't believe what had just happened.

"He took my stash." Trevor stated when he saw that Jack wasn't coming back.

"Dumb piece of shit." Bobby murmured as he punched him in the face again, knocking him down before he turned and began to walk back home.


	6. Chapter 5

_A/N: Once again I'm really sorry for the wait. I was having trouble deciding how I wanted this part to go and I have about 120893 projects for school._

_And just so no one gets confused, this chapter switches from where Bobby is to where Jack is in the middle of the story. I separated the parts bya linebut I also made where Jack is in italics. I really hope it's not too confusing, but if it is then I'll explain in my next post or re-write the chapter so it doesn't switch._

_Thanks for the reviews!_ : )

**Chapter 5**

"I told you not to go after him, man!" Angel yelled once Bobby told him what had happened. "Why are you always trying to be a fucking hero!"

"Don't start with me Angel!" Bobby yelled back, making things escalate into a full-blown argument. They could go on like this for hours. Bobby knew he was wrong, but he wasn't about to back down.

"Why do you always have to treat everybody like shit, Bobby!" Sophie called from the kitchen.

"Nobody was talkin to yo ass!" Bobby shot right back. He heard Sophie start cussing him out in Spanish, but he wasn't listening, he was already continuing his argument with Angel who was now even more pissed at Bobby than he already was.

Once their argument had finally ceased Angel and Sophie went upstairs and Bobby retreated to the couch, uselessly filliping through the channels. He sighed and tossed the remote onto the floor, rubbing his eyes. He was so tired, but he couldn't sleep. He couldn't stand not knowing where Jack was, and the argument with Angel didn't exactly help calm his nerves.

He picked up the phone, finally deciding to call Jack before going to bed.

"Come on, Jack." Bobby muttered quietly into the phone as it rang on the other end. He didn't know if he could stand losing Jack. It was already hard enoughwhen the shooting happened. Now he had was worried of getting a call from the police saying he had been found dead somewhere. He couldn't help but fear the worst.

He was so lost in his thoughts that he almost didn't hear Jack's pained voice on the other end.

* * *

"_What the hell do you want?" Jack asked into the phone. He honestly didn't know why he had answered; he didn't feel like talking to anyone._

_He wasn't doing anything but walkin garound aimlessly. He didn't have a place that he could go. He shoved his hand in his pocket and drew out the bag as Bobby was talking to him on the phone. He knew that he should just throw the drugs away so he wouldn't cause any more trouble than he already had, but he felt so broken right now that he didn't care, he just needed to get rid of the pain he had be feeling for the past week._

_He stopped and sat down on the curb, still examining the bag and contemplating whether or not to take it._

"_... Jack, just please come home. Everyone's worried about you." _

He'd only caught the last part of what Bobby was saying to him. He was having a hard time focusing.

_"Let me spare you the heartache." Jack began. "After tonight I'll leave forever and you won't have to worry about me anymore."_

"_Don't do anything stupid, Jack. Just let me come get you, ok?" Bobby said desperately on the other line._

"_It's too late, man." Jack responded dully. He was tired. He was ready to give up._

_"Tell me where you are. I'll come get you... We'll sort everything out... It'll be fine" Bobby said into the phone, pleading with Jack to tell him where he was._

_Jack poured some of the powder into his hand and snorted it loudly before exhaling deeply._

_"I already said it, man. It's too late." Jack said to Bobby softly before hanging up._


	7. Chapter 6

_A/N: Thanks for all of the reviews! I'm glad that you guys seemed to like the last chapter!_ : ) _Hopefully you'll like this one just as much!_

_PS- This chapter skips ahead a short period of time from the last chapter._

**Chapter 6**

Jack slowly walked up to the house. He had no idea what kind of shit he had gotten himself into in the last few of weeks. He didn't know exactly how long he had been gone; it was all a huge blur. All he remembered clearly was waking up in someone's house lying on their couch. He didn't know who's house it was, but he quickly grabbed his things and left. His head was pounding from the lack of drugs or alcohol in his system. There was a cut on his cheek. His lips were cracked and he had a variety of bruises and cuts on his arms and he had no idea how they had gotten there. His clothes were dirty and ripped. He was so tired he could barely see straight and he wondered how he had managed to walk home from where ever it was that he had been.

He slowly raised his arm and knocked on the door. Every movement seemed exhausting. There was shuffling inside and after a moment the door swung open.

Jack wasn't sure what to say. He had, after all, ran off and never bothered to call any of his brothers, at least to let them know that he was alive. "Hey..." Jack finally said almost inaudibly. Even his voice sound tired and weak and he wasn't sure if they had heard him.

The figure in the door looked at him strangely for a moment, not even recognizing his own brother. "Jack..." Bobby finally stated in disbelief. Him and his brothers had been looking for Jack for over a month now. They had almost given up hope, figuring he was dead. The house had had a certain heaviness about it since Jack left, each person fearing the worst, yet no one said it aloud. He wanted to give him a huge hug and tell him how much everyone had missed him, but being his tough self, he decided against it.

"I'm back." Jack stated, almost equally inaudible. His throat hurt. He body ached.

"No shit..." Bobby said softly. He moved aside to let his brother pass into the house. He saw Jack stagger as he walked by, nearly falling. "... Whoa, careful." Bobby said as he grabbed Jack before he could hit the ground, helping him inside.

Jack looked like he was going to collapse any moment. _Hell_, he practically _had_ collapsed. Out of all the times Jack had run away, he had never looked like this when he returned home.

"Angel! Get me some ice!" Bobby called as they slowly made their way to the couch.

Bobby was bearing most of Jack's weight. He slung one of Jack's arms over his shoulder and he put one of his arms around his waist for support. He could feel the boy's ribs sticking out sharply through his shirt and he wondered when was the last time he had eaten.

Bobby lightly sat Jack down on the couch and straightened up. He looked down at him, accessing his injuries as he waited for Angel to bring the ice. He could tell Jack had been drinking and doing drugs. He didn't even have to ask.

"It's about time, man." Angel said as he walked into the room, handing Jack the bag of ice.

"Thanks." He said as he put the bag up to his cheek. He didn't look up, but stared at a spot on the carpet. He couldn't look either of them in the eye. All he does is cause them pain.

"I'm gonna go to the store. We don't have any aspirin. And from the looks of it, you need as much of that shit as you can get." Angel said after a moment of awkward silence. He walked over to the counter and grabbed his keys. "I'll be back in a sec." He added before walking out of the house.

"What the hell happened to you?" Bobby asked once Angel had left.

"I don't know."

"You don't know." Bobby repeated, mostly for affect.

"That's what I said."

"You look like shit."

"I know."

Bobby sighed and sat down in the chair a few feet away. He didn't say anything as he searched for the right words to say. "Maybe you should talk to someone. Like, a therapist or somethin', or go to rehab..." Bobby finally said.

Jack finally looked up at him. "I'm not crazy."

"I know; I never said you were." Bobby replied.

"I'm not going." He stated. He didn't need a shrink monitoring his every move. His hands were shaking. He didn't want to admit it, but he knew he had developed an addiction to cocaine and alcohol, not to mention the other variety of drugs he had taken.

"Jack, look at yourself." Bobby stated firmly. "You're sick."

"I said I wasn't going!" Jack shouted even though it made his throat throb.

"I'm not going to watch you kill yourself." Bobby said sadly. Jack was a bit taken aback by the pain in Bobby's voice. He knewBobby only wanted what was best for him. He felt his face get hot as a few tears escaped from his eyes. As little as he wanted to admit it Jack knew Bobby was right. He _was_ sick and he desperately need help.


	8. Chapter 7

**_I'm soooooo sorry!_** I don't want to make up excuses, so I'm just going to leave it at that, lol. I _really_ hope you enjoy this chapter, though. Thank you for all of the wonderful the reviews, and for the people who continue to read my story even though there is sometimes a wait between updates!

* * *

**  
Chapter 7 **

Jack stood in front of the mirror in the bathroom as he washed his face, the warm water soothing his cold and clammy skin. Turning off the running water, he gently dried his face. His reflection in the mirror was almost unrecognizable. The figure staring back at him looked almost 30 years old. His once young features had sunken in as if he had aged several years in just one month. He had been going to severe withdrawals and his hands seemed to be fixed with a shaking that he couldn't fix.

Jack took an unsteady breath as he walked out of the bathroom, trying to not look as terrible as he felt.

"You ready to go?" Bobby asked Jack as he reached the bottom of the stairs.

Jack replied with a simple nod and grabbed his coat as they both headed to the door.

"We'll be back later" Bobby called to Angel as left. It was an unusually cold and windy day, which seemed to fit both of their gloomy moods perfectly. The car ride was completely silent except for the soft hum of the radio. They didn't even fight over what radio station to listen to like they normally did every time they were in the car together. Bobby was in seemingly deep concentration on the snowy road, which was unusual considering he was usually an reckless driver. Jack just stared off into space sadly, too deep in his own thoughts to notice much.

Bobby pulled into a tiny parking space in front of a fairly nice looking building and turned of the noisy engine. He looked over at Jack, who didn't seem to make any type of movement the whole car ride. Bobby had finally convinced Jack to see a therapist. He knew that Jack wouldn't never agree to go to rehab, so a therapist was the best he could do. Jack wasn't opening up to anyone and Bobby was beginning to get desperate as Jack kept going downhill, figuring this shrink was Jack's last hope.

"I don't want to do this." Jack said finally after a long pause.

"I know..." Bobby replied, not exactly sure of what to say. "It'll be fine, don't worry."

Jack finally worked up enough courage and got out of the car with a deep sigh, walking into the building with Bobby following close behind him. Once inside they were greeted by the receptionist who had Jack fill out a few forms. After only waiting a few minutes a tall and slender lady came out of a door in the back of the room, announcing that she was ready to see Jack now.

Jack looked over at Bobby, hesitating, before standing up and slowly following the lady into another room, leaving Bobby behind. The doctor led Jack down a narrow hallway lined with several doors until they reached the one marked Doctor Stone where she opened the door and stood back for Jack to enter in front of her.

"You can just have a seat in that chair over there. Make yourself comfortable." She said kindly. "I just need to get a few papers first, and then we'll begin."

Jack did as he was told, and sat down in a leather seat in the back end of the room. The room was quite larger than he expected it to be and was filled with a bunch of items you would typically expect to see in this type of place. A bookshelf filled with large, thick books stood in along the wall. A few pieces of furniture were spread out through the room and a large rug covered the majority of the ugly carpet. The desk in the corner next to the door was covered in different papers and notebooks.

Dr. Stone shuffle around the mess of papers on her desk for a moment before grabbing the few that she needed and walking over to sat in the chair facing Jack.

"Hello, I'm Dr. Jessica Stone, but you can just call me Jessica if you'd like," she began, introducing herself. "And you must be Jack. It's nice to meet you." She added, smiling at him as she extended out her hand.

"Yeah. That's me." Jack replied skeptically as they shook hands. He didn't want to be here. How the hell was someone he just met supposed to be the answer to all his problems?

"Well I guess we should get started. We only have a short time, the first meeting always seems to go by quickly." Jessica said, sitting back comfortably in her chair and crossing her legs

_Quickly_? Jack almost laughed out loud. _Yeah_ _right_.

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_A/N: I know that wasn't the best place to stop, but I wasn't sure how I wanted the first meeting to go so I just decided to stop there _) R+R


	9. Chapter 8

DUN DUN DUN! It's the final chapter. I really hope it doesn't suck. Yeah, I know it's short, but hey, it's the content that counts right? Lol, anyways, be sure to review! Hopefully I'll come up with an idea for another story soon, so be on the look out!

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**Chapter 8**

"Jack?" came Jessica's soft voice. They had been talking now for almost an hour and it seemed as if Jessica had come to an especially sensitive topic for Jack.

"I _said,_ I don't like talking about it." Jack replied in a slightly harsh tone. His eyes were suddenly glassy and she could tell he was fighting back tears. He brought his hand to his face, nervously biting his already raw fingernails and closed his eyes tightly.

"How am I supposed to help you if I don't know about the main things in your life?" Jessica asked, her question not coming out as soft as she meant it to be.

Jack opened his eyes and stared at her coldly. "I've tried my whole life to forget about it and talking about it doesn't make it any better." He stated. "I don't want to go back to that feeling." He added after a slight pause.

"Jack, it's just me you're talking to. No one is here to judge you."

"I don't care. I'm not talking about it."

Jessica sighed, closing the folder of papers sitting in her lap. "It's ok, I don't want to force you to anything you don't want to."

Jack glanced up at the clock on the wall and realized that their 1-hour meeting was up.

"Don't seem so surprised, I told you the first meeting always goes by quickly." Jessica said with a slight smile as she stood up and headed to the door. Jack stood up and followed her out into the lobby area, where Bobby sat staring at a lame-ass magazine, looking bored as hell. When he saw the two enter into the room he quickly closed the magazine and stood up.

"How'd it go?" Bobby asked.

"Fine." Jack said quietly, shoving his hands into his pockets.

"It went well." Jessica replied brightly. "So I'll see you again next week?" She asked, turning to Jack.

"Yeah."

"Good." She added, smiling once more before walking back to her office.

After confirming the next appointment with the receptionist, Jack and Bobby were in the car and on their way home.

"You ok?" Bobby asked after a few minutes of silence. "You look a little shaken up."

Jack didn't answer at first, and for a moment, Bobby wondered if Jack had even heard him. You could never tell with him sometimes when he got into certain moods.

"She asked me about my father." Jack said suddenly, still looking quietly out the window.

"Oh." Bobby said quietly. He was worried that she would ask Jack about his father. Everyone in the house knew that was the one thing that you just didn't talk about.

"I told her I didn't want to talk about it. And then the meeting was over." Jack replied. "But it all came back to me, Bobby. Everything just kept replaying in my mind over and over."

"Don't do this Jackie." Bobby said, looking over at him. He noticed that Jack was shaking.

"It's just hard, you know?" Jack stated, meeting Bobby's stare. "I tired, Bobby. I don't want to go back to that life- all the drugs and shit. Not ever. It just ruins everything."

"I know." Bobby replied sadly. "But you're going to get clean and I'm gonna try to actually keep a job." Bobby paused, looking over at Jack again. "Hey, we'll save up enough money and move out of this shitty ass town. Go buy ourselves a fucking mansion."

"Yeah, right." Jack said playfully, giving Bobby a small grin, something Bobby hadn't seen Jack do in long time. Bobby returned his smile. He wasn't sure what had made Jack finally snap to begin with, but it didn't matter. Things were going to get better; he could feel it.


	10. Author's Note!

I'M BACK!!! I've finally decided to continue this story. I've gotten an extremely bigger response then I was anticipating so I figured that there was no reason why I shouldn't continue. I got caught up in school work, and right now I'm out for Thanksgiving break, so I've had some spare time.

The next chapter should definately be up by today or tomorrow. I can't promise frequent updates, but I will promise that there will be new chapters as long as people enjoy reading.

Thanks for reading!


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